Franklin Twp. women heading to London for wedding week

As Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton groom for their fairy tale wedding on April 29, a Franklin Township woman is poised for her own dream come true.

And "Good Morning America" will be right there to film her adventures. If they're anything like her past experiences with royals, the television program's audience should be in for a jolly good show.

Darla Herrnberger and her sister Sheree Troy, who lives near Charlotte, N.C., share a passion for the royal family and have palatial plans to travel to London Saturday to celebrate the noble nuptials.

"I think it's fair to say that this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and a dream come true," said Herrnberger, whose life in some ways has paralleled that of William's mother, the late Princess Diana.

Both wed in the early 1980s, and Herrnberger's son, Grant, was born at roughly the same time as Prince William, whom she has kept up with throughout his life.

"So to be in London the week he gets married is really special," she said. "I'm most looking forward to getting a glimpse of the couple."

Herrnberger modestly admitted people often told her she shared something else with the popular princess.

"When I was in college, I had a similar haircut and people told me 'Oh, you look like Diana,' " she said. "I didn't see it, but what a lovely compliment."

Herrnberger credits her sister with getting the duo started down the regal road.

"She was always interested in the British monarchy from the early 1800s, when Queen Victoria was a young princess," Herrnberger said. "She's interested in any or all things Windsor.

"She has a lifetime passion," Herrnberger said. "I've become one (an Anglophile) through her."

The British influence was evident even as Herrnberger and her husband, Philip, selected the spelling of their daughter's name. Abigail is nicknamed Abbey.

"She was named for Westminster Abbey," Herrnberger said of the historic church where Wills and Kate will be married.

Troy's fervor for the House of Windsor evidences itself in a memorabilia collection fit for a king. She began amassing souvenirs of Prince Charles and Princess Diana during her first pilgrimage to London in 1981, shortly before their wedding. After 30 years, she's gathered more than 200 books on the royal family, along with countless commemorative thimbles, cups and saucers, tea towels, trinket boxes, soap, playing cards and more.

"She has some at her house and some in climate-controlled storage," Herrnberger said.

Troy said her favorites include exquisitely detailed dolls of Diana created by the Franklin Mint and silly bedroom slippers with plastic caricature heads of Charles and Diana. Her collection also boasts a 114-year-old plate commemorating Queen Victoria's 60th year as queen.

She'll no doubt add to that collection during the upcoming trip, Saturday to April 30, as the sisters have grand plans.

They will rent an apartment 2½ miles from Buckingham Palace in the Kensington area where Diana grew up.

Herrnberger is particularly looking forward to an elegant

costume party in which guests will dress in wedding garb. Troy sells vintage clothing, so she will provide proper attire for both sisters. The event will take place in London's Porchester Hall, where, according to its website, the decor "will make you feel like royalty."

Other highlights include a tour of the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace, which houses horses, carriages and cars used to transport the royals; sitting in on a live television talk show, comparable to ABC's "The View," called "Loose Women," which features British celebrities; and hopefully a tour in Bucklebury, where Kate was reared.

"Kate Middleton's school offers a tour we would like to participate in and see different places where Kate grew up," Herrnberger said.

The sisters also hope to finesse an invitation to a traditional British street party, complete with food-laden tables and patriotic decorations.

"Each small community is having like a block party," Herrnberger said. "It's to celebrate with the locals as they celebrate Kate and Will."

When she's not on vacation, Herrnberger reigns over a class of fourth-graders at Marshall Elementary School in the North Allegheny School District.

"As a teacher, we taught 'Cinderella' in various forms this year," she said. "It was just so ironic that my curriculum taught the story in different cultures."

Now she will crown those lessons by seeing a "commoner marrying a prince."

"My kids are just really excited that I'm going to witness a real, live fairy tale come true," she said.

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